


The Pronoun Game

by msinformed13



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-08-11 02:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7872442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msinformed13/pseuds/msinformed13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Kathryn watched Doctor Mills keep her arms locked around the blonde's neck and press her lips to Professor Swan's in a chaste kiss. So surprised by the action, she completely misjudged how close she was to the sideline, before she could do anything, she tripped over a water bottle, and landed flat on her ass." Established Swan Queen AU told through Kathryn, Henry's babysitter. REPOST FROM FANFICTION</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N- I really enjoyed writing this story, it's an AU established Swan Queen as told through the view point of Kathryn (college student and babysitter extraordinaire).

The sky was overcast in an uncharacteristic grey for the beginning of May as Kathryn flew down the road, speeding into the parking lot with her shirt half on. She pulled haphazardly into a space in the lot, jumping out of her car with her bag in one hand, her keys in the other, and her shirt tangled up around the top of her chest.

She was halfway across the park before she managed to get her clothing straightened out and throw her keys in her bag.

"Looks like I'm just in time for the five thirty show." A low voice drawled from beside the goal.

Kathryn rolled her eyes, but threw her bag down, "Good afternoon to you too, Jones."

"I'm just saying, if you need to make extra money before this semester ends, there's probably better places to troll for clients than a youth soccer game." He smirked, before shooting a glance around at the parents setting up folding chairs along the sidelines, "Then again, I bet some of these soccer moms would pay well."

"You're disgusting."

"And you're a joy to work with."

Kathryn rolled her eyes before bending down to retrieve her whistle from her bag, "Do you want coach's side or parent's side?"

The boy's gaze was caught on a tall blonde woman walking towards the field. An excited five year old was tugging her hand in an attempt to make her walk faster, "I'll take whatever side she sits at."

The girl rolled her eyes, but nearly choked when she identified the woman her co-worker was leering at, "That's Professor Swan."

"You know her?"

"She teaches my post modern literature seminar."

A lecherous look crossed the boy's face, "Does she offer any extra credit?"

"You're pathetic, Killian." Kathryn muttered, grabbing a quarter from her bag and walking out into the field, expecting him to follow. They went to the team in green shirts first, Kathryn leading the check, "Can I get everyone to get in a line for me?" She asked, her voice dripping with the sweetness she used when addressing the small soccer players.

They complied and she asked them all to raise one foot so she could check that they had proper cleats on. While she moved down the line, Killian stalked her closely, "So what's the deal with Ms. Swan, is she married?"

Kathryn rolled her eyes but knew that Killian wouldn't drop the topic, "Yes, she is." She reached the last kid and stood up straight again, "Alright, now everyone tap your shin guards!" She watched with a critical eye to ensure all the kids had the protective gear.

"Yes she's married as in she's in a loving happy relationship with a large intimidating man, or married as in an unsatisfying dull marriage that could do with an intervening force?" Killian asked for clarification.

Kathryn paused her walk across the field to the other team to give her co-worker a meaningful look, "Seriously?"

"I just want to know what I'm dealing with here!"

"She's like ten years older than you!"

"She's hot!"

Kathryn shook her head, going to inspect the team in blue shirts. Among them was the little brunette boy who had been dragging Professor Swan along earlier. He was shorter than the other kids on his team, even the girls, and he was most definitely on the scrawny side.

"Line up for me kiddos!" She said, beginning the process again while Killian continued.

"So happily married, but do you think the husband could beat me, in a fight I mean?"

Kathryn was just about fed up with him, before she suddenly remembered something that brought a smile to her face, "I've never actually seen him, though she did mention something about them taking kickboxing classes together."

After completing the gear check with the second team, Kathryn flipped the quarter to determine which team would kick first, and the game began. They made it through the first quarter relatively injury free, a few kids fell over, but for the most part they popped right back up. The coaches weren't getting overzealous, all in all it was shaping up to be an easy game.

It took about half the first quarter for Professor Swan to recognize that Kathryn was one of her students, only doing so when her son's team earned a corner kick and Kathryn set her son up in the painted area to kick it. The teacher smiled in the blonde girl's direction, but Kathryn was preoccupied with making sure the kids didn't trip each other in their haste to chase the ball.

In the break between the first and second quarter, Kathryn and Killian met back in the middle of the field, "Did you see that girl trip over her own feet by the blue team's goal?" Kathryn asked, smiling at the clumsiness of the young kids trying to play the sport.

"Yeah, kids, adorable, soccer, whatever. So you think blondie's husband is tougher than me?"

"Her name is Swan, not blondie, and yes I do."

"Damn. Well how happy do you think they are?"

"Well she mentioned something about their twelve year anniversary coming up, so I'm going to guess they're twelve years worth of happy."

Killian glared at the girl before raising his gaze over her shoulder, "Fine, I've moved on."

"Oh God, who's the poor woman now?" Kathryn asked, spinning around.

Strutting across the grassy park in a charcoal grey pencil skirt, a blazer, and four inch heels was a familiar brunette. Kathryn felt her mouth involuntarily fall open as she watched the woman's progress. Killian took notice and his grin morphed into a smirk.

"Well, love, I didn't know brunettes in power suits was your type, but I must say I'm not surprised."

"That's not it, you idiot." She shook her head and blew her whistle to get the kids back out onto the field for the second quarter, "She's the head of the Political Science department." Kathryn had just barely declared her intent to become a Poly Sci major, being a second semester sophomore.

"Does she have a kid too?"

"Not that I know of." All she did know was that the brunette was famous for her ability to wear breakneck heels even when the sidewalks were icy in the New England winters, and her barely passable 400 level seminar all Poly Sci majors had to take their senior year. Kathryn knew she was a doctor, though what the woman earned her doctorate in was questionable, she just knew that if one wished to address the powerful woman, they had better do so by the proper title.

Kathryn was torn from her thoughts as the kids were all set up and ready for kick off. She placed the ball and began the next quarter, as the green team took possession and ran up the field, Kathryn found herself watching the head of her department more than the game. The brunette walked all the way down the sideline, stopping beside the english professor.

The women smiled at each other and Professor Swan stood from her folding chair to greet the other woman. It was then that Kathryn noticed an empty, matching chair beside the one her blonde teacher had occupied.

That makes sense. Kathryn thought, They work at the same university, they're friends, their kids play soccer together so they come to the games together, so Professor Swan brought a chair for Professor Mills. She reasoned.

Kathryn shuffled up the sideline as she watched the two educators hug. Friends hug for that long when they greet each other at a soccer game, right? Kathryn thought, still inconspicuously watching the two, when they stepped apart, she watched Doctor Mills keep her arms locked around the blonde's neck and press her lips to Professor Swan's in a chaste kiss.

Friends don't do that. Kathryn was so surprised by the action she completely misjudged how close she was to the sideline, and before she could do anything, she was tripping over a water bottle, and landing flat on her ass. In the fall, she let out an involuntary yelp which came out through the whistle in her mouth as a loud shrill hiss.


	2. Chapter 2

She watched Doctor Mills keep her arms locked around the blonde's neck and press her lips to Professor Swan's in a chaste kiss.

Friends don't do that. Kathryn was so surprised by the action she completely misjudged how close she was to the sideline, and before she could do anything, she was tripping over a water bottle, and landing flat on her ass. In the fall, she let out an involuntary yelp which came out through the whistle in her mouth as a loud shrill hiss...

When she got up, it was with a guilty expression on her flushed red face. She refused to look at either woman from her university as she brushed Killian off, assuring him she was fine.

Kathryn managed to avoid meeting the eyes of her professor and future dean for the rest of the second quarter. When time was up, and she met back in the middle of the field with Killian, he had an unsettling smirk, "Are there a lot of water bottles on the sideline over there?"

"Yeah, it's, um dangerous."

"Right." His smirk only grew as he noticed how the other referee was putting a distinct effort into not looking at the parent's sideline.

Kathryn noticed, "Stop smirking."

"Stop blushing."

Instead of replying, Kathryn blew her whistle and the teams settled back out onto the field. She did a good job of avoiding making eye contact with the two women, until she was setting up a member of the green team for a corner kick. The little boy wound up and drop kicked the ball as hard as he could, right into the head of one of the blue players.

Kathryn was blowing her whistle and kneeling next to the boy in seconds, "Hey, are you alright?" The shot from the ball landed the kid back on his butt, holding his hands to his small nose. Of all the children on the field, it had to be the boy who had been dragging Professor Swan across the field earlier. He wasn't crying, more just stunned.

"Hey kiddo, can you tell me what your name is?"

"Henry." When the boy took his hands away from his nose to reply, Kathryn was shocked to see blood pouring down his face. He had a bloody nose.

She rubbed his back in reassurance to make sure he didn't freak out with the amount of his own blood, "Well you're a very brave little boy, Henry."

Kathryn took her own long sleeve and used it to wipe some of the blood from the boy's chin. He watched her skeptically before rendering his judgement, "You're pretty."

"Thank you." The blonde couldn't quite get over the oddness of her situation, sacrificing her shirt to the bloody nose of her professor's son. A professor who was married, yet kissing the head of the political science department.

"What's your name?" He asked. Even dripping blood like a faucet, the kid had great manners.

"Kathryn. Ok, Henry, we're going to go over to your coach for a little bit."

"Can I go to my Mommy?"

"Sure." Kathryn stood and lightly placed a hand on the boy's shoulder to lead him out of the gaggle of kids that had formed, she began walking him over to the sidelines, "We got a bloody nose." She told Killian on her way over.

Once Henry had gotten out of the group and the parents could see him, Doctor Mills was on her feet and half running across the field in her heels, Professor Swan was right behind her.

"Henry!" The brunette dropped next to him, and held both his shoulders, "Oh my goodness."

"Are you ok, Hen?" Swan asked. She stood behind the brunette and ran a comforting hand across the older woman's back in reassurance.

"I'm ok, Momma." The boy insisted. The blonde handed the kneeling woman some kleenex which Doctor Mills used to wipe the boy's face of whatever blood wasn't already decorating Kathryn's shirt sleeve. Once he was cleaned, she pinched the bridge of his nose.

"We just have to keep your nose like this for a little bit." Doctor Mills smiled at Kathryn in thanks. She didn't recognize her, as the student's interaction with the intimidating brunette was limited to catching glimpses through her open office door or scurrying out of the way when Professor Mills was striding purposefully down the halls of the humanities building.

"Carry me, Mommy?"

"Alright dear." The brunette agreed, standing up and lifting the boy onto her hip.

Kathryn kept her impassive smile plastered on as her mind went into overdrive, the kid just called Professor Swan Momma, and then he called Doctor Mills Mommy and she picked him up. So they're both his mothers.

She turned and went back to the field, "I'm going to change." Kathryn told Killian, briefly detouring to her car to grab a her spare shirt.

The boy just shrugged in indifference, nodding that they could resume the game. Henry stayed out for the remainder of the third quarter, sitting in the dean's lap, but by the fourth quarter, he was back out, eager as ever.

Throughout the fourth quarter, Kathryn noticed a certain pint sized brunette that seemed to be glued to her elbow. The small boy provided her with idle chatter, and by the end of the game, he hadn't touched the ball once, but Kathryn knew more than ever about elephants, cacti, and Australia (Henry's current favorite subjects).

After the game, Kathryn tried, and failed, to distract her attention by talking to Killian. She found herself sneaking glances at the two women over his shoulder, taking in the way they packed their things up together, the way Professor Swan shouldered both folding chairs and Doctor Mill's bags, the way Professor Swan wrapped an arm around the dean's waist as they waited for the boy to return from getting his snack from his coach.

"Earth to Kathryn." Killian said, waving a hand in front of the girl's face and succeeding in getting her attention back.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"Are we referring on Friday together as well?"

"Yeah, I think we are."

"Great." He groaned in annoyance, "Don't look now, but we've got company."

"Excuse me?" A voice asked, echoing lethally across the grass.

Kathryn's eyes unconciously snapped to where she had been watching the couple earlier, but it was deserted and she didn't see the two anywhere.

She faintly heard a throat clearing behind her back, and watched as Killian's face turned sour, and he backed away.

Kathryn whirled around to see her dean, standing with the most severe expression that one can have while balancing a napping five year old on her hip. Professor Swan was right behind her with a kinder smile. Once Killian had backed far enough away, Doctor Mills turned her intimidating stare on to Kathryn, the girl internally shrunk under the stare, "Doctor Mills, is Henry alright?"

The boy was totally knocked out and a line of drool was dangerously close to dripping on the dean's blazer, "Yes he is fine, thank you."

"That's good." They stood awkwardly for a moment, Kathryn wanting nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow her, as Doctor Mills eyed her critically. Professor Swan just shuffled awkwardly behind the brunette.

Finally, it seemed as though the english professor could stand it no longer, "So Kathryn, here's the thing, Regina and I are together."

The twenty year old was unsure what took her more by surprise, hearing her uptight dean referred to as 'Regina' or the admission that she was indeed 'with' the eccentric english professor. Kathryn tried to mask her shock, but failed miserably, "I thought you were married." She blurted before she could stop it.

"She is," Doctor Mills, Regina, affirmed, "to me."

Finally, everything seemed to click in Kathryn's mind and she released a short "Oh". She nodded, encouraging Professor Swan to continue.

"But nobody knows that." Professor Swan went on, stating the obvious.

Dean Mills rolled her eyes lovingly and jumped in, "The point is, nobody can know that we're together because Professor Swan is being reviewed for her tenure." It went unspoken, the insinuation that the blonde would not be receiving that tenure if their relationship was not concealed. "I assume we can expect your silence on the matter?" Her tone was severe and left no doubt in Kathryn's mind that she would remain silent, regardless of what she thought.

She nodded nonetheless, "Of course, yeah. I won't say anything."

"And that boy you were refereeing with?"

Kathryn had totally forgotten Killian, but now she rolled her eyes slightly, "Don't worry, he's going to the community college down the road. Not that there's anything wrong with community college, just that he won't say anything to anyone important. Not that I'm important, it's just, yeah."

Professor Swan smiled reassuringly at the mumbling mess her student had turned into, "Thank you." With that, she placed a hand on the small of Regina's back to prompt her to break her intense glare at Kathryn and head away towards the cars, "I'll see you in class tomorrow!" Professor Swan offered over her shoulder.

Kathryn gave a weak wave in response.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Kathryn showed up just as her eleven o'clock class with Professor Swan was about to start, she caught the tail end of whatever conversation a kid in the first row was having with the blonde teacher.

"No way, the best lasagna in New Haven is at Armandos, hands down."

"How have you been to Armandos?" The teacher had a kind light in her eyes as she joked with the boy, "My husband and I tried to get reservations there for our anniversary, it's impossible." Professor Swan's eyes jumped up briefly to meet Kathryn's from where she'd been watching the exchange from the third row. She could vaguely see a hint of guilt in the professor's gaze, but she tried not to linger too much on it.

"I work there, in valet." The student smiled easily, "You ever want reservations, let me know. I've got the hook up."

"Definitely." Professor Swan agreed, taking a sweeping look at the classroom to see that most students had arrived and she decided to start class.

The lecture passed quickly, Kathryn had read ahead in anticipation of a long week between her jobs, and as such she was able to spend most of the period with her mind blindly wandering. So Professor Swan pretends that she's married to a man with all of us, and Doctor Mills pretends to be frigidly single.

The town was a typical college one, with a lively night scene and a fair amount of coffee shops and bars dotting the center. Despite the general liberal feel of the college itself, the town was quite conservative, as was the board of the university so Kathryn supposed that it made sense that the two women felt it better to keep their relationship quiet.

Kathryn was drawn from her musings by her name being called.

"Excuse me?"

Professor Swan smiled, recognizing the thousand yard stare her student had been sporting, "I asked you to stay behind class a minute."

The blonde finally realized that the students around her were packing away their things, and the hall was buzzing with the voices of the other students being released from classes. Kathryn threw her notebook in her bag and shouldered it, playing absently with her pen between her fingers as she descended the steps of the lecture hall and stopped short of her professor's desk.

Professor Swan, for her part, kept herself busy packing her bag, and waiting for the rest of the students to empty out of the hall before addressing Kathryn. When she did, it was not with the words the blonde student was expecting.

"Have you got another class right now?"

"Excuse me?"

"You say that a lot." Professor Swan laughed. It was clear to see the youth in this woman's eyes, and Kathryn found herself hoping she aged that easily, "Do you have class this afternoon?"

"Not until two."

The professor winced in sympathy, the only classes starting that late were lab practicals, "Take a walk with me?"

It took all of Kathryn's restraint not to reply with 'Excuse me?' But she managed a nod and followed Professor Swan as she led the way out of the lecture hall.

She expected the professor to make the conversation, but she was met with silence all the way out of the building, and for a few moments down the weathered path that led down to the scenic walk around the lake.

Kathryn fell into step beside her professor, allowing herself to take in the reawakening foliage when she accepted the blonde's apparent silence. The trees were just beginning to turn green as the town welcomed in spring after a long winter. The path was mainly empty as most students were holed up in a library doing last minute studying before finals, or drowning their sorrows in the brownies the dining halls mass produced during the lead up to exams. Professor Swan just short of gave Kathryn a heart attack when she finally did speak.

"On this path is where I first met Regina." She had a soft smile on her lips that Kathryn recognized from the few odd times she would mention her elusive 'husband' in class, "She was running late for a senior seminar class where she was presenting, and she just about bowled me over right at the corner." Professor Swan nodded at a blind corner created by a large oak tree, "That was about seventeen years ago."

Kathryn just remained quiet, listening attentively, and wondering what had prompted this sudden disclosure. And her patience was rewarded.

"Gina and I haven't had a date night in five years." The professor had a laugh on her lips as she took in Kathryn's shocked expression, "I know, some lucky combination of not being able to ask anyone from the university to watch the kid, Regina not trusting babysitters, and Henry managing to run off whoever Regina finally did approve of meant that we are in a desperate shortage of childcare provision."

Kathryn didn't quite know what to say, but she felt like she should say something, "Well I-"

She, however, was easily cut off, "For the past day all I've heard about is that pretty whistle lady Kathryn."

The blonde smiled at the memory of the kind little boy with the mop of unruly brown hair, "Professor Swan-"

"Call me Emma."

"Right, Emma." Kathryn felt incredibly awkward calling her professor something so casual, but she went with it, the day was strange enough and this was just adding to it. She still didn't know what she wanted to say, but it was beginning to come together, "How's Henry?"

"Much less bloody than he was last night."

"That's good."

Professor Swan, Emma, nodded, "Regina ran his jersey through the wash at least a dozen times, but I don't think that stain will ever come out."

"At least Henry's not afraid of soccer, that happens sometimes when kids get an injury."

"That kid is fearless." Emma said with evident pride, "How would you like to see him again?"

"Excuse me?" This one came out before Kathryn could stop it.

Emma laughed in response, "Would you be willing to be thoroughly and awkwardly interviewed by my wife, in order to be approved to come to my home, play with my monster- I mean son, for a few hours, and get paid while I finally eat something other than Mac and cheese or takeout?"

Kathryn chuckled, wondering how someone as light as Emma ended up with someone as severe as the head of the Political Science department. All the same, she couldn't resist the offer, "Amazingly enough, that's not the strangest job offer I've ever had."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to the commenter who pointed it out to me- I posted chapter four and five in the incorrect order. That has now been fixed.

When Professor Swan, Emma, had made the job offer, Kathryn had thought she was joking about the severity of the interview with Doctor Mills, but sitting here across the intimidating desk in the dean's office, she realized that Emma hadn't been kidding.

Kathryn had arrived five minutes early to the interview. The interview which she had been informed of via a hand delivered memo from one of Doctor Mill's numerous teaching assistants to the blonde while she was studying in the library. Kathryn half expected the memo to say 'the department is watching' like some old Bond thriller.

But no, the personalized stationary demanded her presence here where she sat silently as Doctor Mills grabbed a manila folder out of the top drawer of her desk. From her seat across the mahogany, Kathryn could make out her own name written elegantly along the top of the folder and instantly feared the contents.

"How are you this afternoon, Kathryn?" The brunette asked in a voice that made Kathryn doubt that she actually cared about the answer.

"I'm good, and you, Doctor Mills?"

"Fine." The answer was clipped and to the point. She did not ask Kathryn to call her 'Regina' and the blonde wasn't sure she would be able to if she was asked, "So, what is your major Kathryn?"

"Political Science."

"Really?" That earned her a raised eyebrow and a critical appraisal, "I wasn't aware."

"I just talked to my counselor and officially declared last week."

"And what do you hope to do with such a major?"

"Law school." Kathryn held her chin high and defiant as she prepared to defend the path she had chosen to yet another person, "I intend to become an assistant district attorney."

A small smile tugged at Regina's lips, though she was obviously the type to play her emotions close to the belt, "You don't intend to join your father's firm?"

That took Kathryn off guard, but then she should have expected the dean to do her homework. Of course she would know of the infamous Nolan legal legacy, "No I don't."

Kathryn expected confusion or questioning on why she would make such a pigheaded decision. Instead, the dean sat back in her chair, regarding Kathryn with a new fondness. It would be a while until the blonde discovered why.

"I can't imagine your father was pleased with that decision."

"He still isn't."

Regina looked at the fire in the young blonde's eyes, her rigidly set chin, and knew, had things been different, had she and Kathryn gone to school together, they would more than likely have been good friends. She saw so much of herself in the girl, and it softened her to some extent.

"You've not chosen an easy path."

"I know."

Seemingly satisfied with the girl's character, Doctor Mills focused her attention on her folder, flicking it open and pulling out some documents.

"Your transcript is impressive, your background check flawless, and your credit score surprisingly high given your circumstances in paying tuition." Regina rattled off.

The assessment left Kathryn with her mouth slightly open, staring in bewilderment at the dean. She couldn't help the first thing which fell from her mouth, "You pulled my credit score?"

"Yes." Regina said, her tone indicating she found nothing out of the ordinary with it.

"And what do you mean my 'circumstances'?" Kathryn didn't have many flaws, but she tended to be a bit prideful and it was showing.

"I merely had a conversation with the office of financial aid and with a friend of mine involved with student work- study." The dean knew that she may have toed a line, but she wasn't about to back off, "How many jobs are you working currently, Kathryn?"

"Three." A muscle in the blondes jaw jumped, but she tried to stay placid, "I work with the youth sports department as a referee, I'm a barista in the coffee shop on Worcester street, and I'm a bartender at the Rabbit Hole."

Her research had told Regina that the blonde was a bartender, though she didn't know Kathryn worked at the Rabbit Hole. It was a popular bar among students and locals alike and it had a vibrant LGBT night every Thursday. Regina recalled frequenting the establishment when she herself was a student, years ago.

Rather than dwell on those memories now, Regina steered the conversation back towards easier topics, "Between all those jobs, when do you expect to have time to watch my son?"

Kathryn didn't miss the possessive edge in the dean's question, "Well I expect I would have to drop one of my other jobs. I've been looking for an excuse to hand in notice at the coffee shop and Jefferson, the owner of the Rabbit Hole, is really great working with our schedules."

The brunette nodded, "So was it out of some dense determination to prove your independence or an argument with your father which resulted in your working three jobs to pay your way through college?"

Kathryn saw through the indifferent look on the dean's face and recognized the practiced aloofness of the upper class. As much as Regina may try to hide it, she was of the debutante type. She understood the tepid, loaded environment that Kathryn had grown up in, the blonde recognized it in the first time Regina had called her 'dear'. It was a hallmark of the women they grew up around. Regina understood the plastered on smiles, the formal business dinners, the tightrope of 'acceptable' choices, she too came from a world where status was everything, and where having an 'estranged' child was the worst possible reflection on a family.

"An argument with my father."

Regina inclined her head knowingly, "Is it something I ought to be concerned with?"

A gentle smirk crossed Kathryn's face. She was sure that the argument would crop up at some point, but for now it wasn't important, "No."

Regina shuffled her papers a bit, coming to the final parts of the interview, "What experience do you have in child care?"

"I'm a certified lifeguard and have training in CPR, first aide, and baby sitting."

The dean could sense talking around a mile away, "How many kids have you actually baby sat before?"

"Seven."

"And how many excluding family members?"

Kathryn bit her lip reluctantly, "One."

"And excluding the siblings of your friends?"

"None."

That didn't surprise Regina, and she found herself not minding Kathryn's lack of experience. Not that she wanted to let the blonde off that easily.

"So what makes you feel qualified to care for my son?"

"I'm great with kids, I've worked as a camp counselor for the past two years so I've got experience there. And Henry seems like a great kid, he's clearly tough and extremely bright." When in doubt, Kathryn knew flattery was always an option, and complimenting Henry meant complimenting Doctor Mills.

Regina smiled, she saw what Kathryn was doing and she wasn't objecting to it, "Thank you." She replaced the papers in her folder, and laced her fingers together atop it, "It was a pleasure talking with you today."

Regina rose, signaling the end of the interview, Kathryn scrambled ungracefully to her feet behind her, "You as well."

"I'll be in touch."

"Do you need my phone number, or anything?" Kathryn wasn't looking forward to another surprise letter from a grad student.

"No, I've already got it."

"Of course." Kathryn paused in the doorway of the office, "How did your minion find me last time?"

The woman smiled at her assistant being called a minion, "I have my ways."

With that, Regina shut the office door behind the blonde, leaving Kathryn in the hall with a distinctly concerned feeling in her gut.


	5. Chapter 5

Kathryn didn't have to wait too long for her fears to be settled as the next day she had literature with Professor Swan. Though the blonde avoided paying any sort of extra attention to Kathryn, she couldn't help but shoot her a small smile and thumbs up.

That was a week ago, now she was making her way up the steps of a beautiful little brownstone to the address Professor Swan had given her. Over the weekend she had been invited to the park with the family, it was a sort of supervised play date. Though awkward at first Kathryn had proven herself to be a qualified caregiver, and Henry was thrilled to drag her all over the play structure, insisting she watch him on the slide and push him on the swings and all number of other things until the boy was thoroughly tuckered out.

Now she was waiting on the doorstep for her first evening watching Henry while his mothers went out.

The door was opened by the grinning five year old, whose eyes lit up instantly upon seeing Kathryn.

"Hello!" He cried excitedly, grabbing her and and pulling her across the threshold. Within her first few minutes with him at the park over the weekend, Kathryn quickly learned a few things about the boy which were proving to be true, he had little stranger anxiety and loved greeting people, and he was incredibly strong despite his small size.

He managed to pull her along all the way into the brownstone before dropping her hand and sprinting off around the corner. Kathryn just stood where she'd been abandoned, looking around at the numerous photos decorating the hallway. There were photos from beachy vacations, snowy winters, baby pictures of Henry. Kathryn's eyes caught on two snapshots in particular, one was framed sitting on a side table just by the door and featured both women at what must have been their wedding. They both wore elegant white gowns and had elaborate updos, the photo itself was just in black and white, Emma was holding Regina from behind and they were gazing at each other lovingly, instead of at the camera.

The other one which caught Kathryn's attention was from much earlier. The blonde had to pause and inspect the photo closer to verify that indeed it was her professor and dean in it. Emma looked quite the same, but Regina seemed so much younger, her hair was longer and had a beautiful easy curl at the ends. Kathryn guessed it was from before they were married as neither woman wore rings, instead they had on matching t shirts that were the same as those worn by the members of the large crowd the two were with.

Everyone seemed to be college aged and Kathryn recognized them to be in front of the Washington Monument in DC. Instead of a cutesy pose or cheesy smiles, Regina was held on Emma's shoulders, the brunette was holding one of Emma's hands for balance, and the other was raised in a defiant fist. Both of their mouths were open in what must have been a chant echoed by the rest of the crowd. Behind them some people were carrying a banner which read 'America is ready for marriage equality- Repeal DOMA'. The same slogan printed on the t shirts adorning all the protestors.

Kathryn was alerted to a presence behind her when Emma spoke up, "That photo was on the cover of most university newspapers across the country and it nearly made the cover of Times. We got bumped by an international peace treaty, but we were centerfold instead." She said with a proud smile. Kathryn briefly wondered how nobody could know about their relationship after such a public event, but that question was lost as Emma continued with her story, "Gina and I had just started dating and she shows up at my dorm at four in the morning, gave me that shirt and said 'want to make history?'." Emma laughed at the memory as she clipped on a pair of earrings.

"Doctor Mills dragged you out to a rally?"

The blonde smiled, "She wasn't Doctor Mills then, trust me. She was such a rebel, still is." Emma's smile faded slightly as she continually failed in hooking her other earring on securely.

Kathryn didn't find that hard to believe, her dean had that look of fiery passion in her dark eyes.

"What was that, dear?" Regina asked, coming from around the hall with Henry held on her hip.

"Nothing." Emma smirked.

The boy had an assortment of race cars and plastic dinosaurs in his arms. He wiggled to be set down and once he was, he dropped all his toys expectantly at Kathryn's feet, "Play with me?"

"Of course, Henry."

Behind her, Regina had taken over fastening her wife's remaining earring and Kathryn just observed the couple for a moment. Regina wore a red dress that fell just above her knees, and Emma had a complimentary black one. They were both stunning, but what captured Kathryn more was the ease with which they worked around each other.

"What did you tell Kathryn?" Regina asked again when she had her wife captured by the ear.

"Just how much of a lawless rebel you once were."

"Liar." She admonished lightly, releasing the now pinned ear.

"I'm not the one who was arrested a dozen times in four years."

"Don't exaggerate, it wasn't that many."

Emma snaked her arms around Regina's waist, both temporarily forgetting about the babysitter and son just down the hall, "I would never exaggerate." The blonde smirked, leaning in to press a kiss just below her wife's ear, "Besides, jail always looked good on you."

For the first, but certainly not the last time, Kathryn watched the dean's cheeks darken with a slight blush before she remembered herself and stepped out of the blonde's embrace. She patted her hair down slightly and addressed Kathryn, "Henry's bedtime is seven thirty, he's had dinner but there's some snacks in the fridge if he gets hungry. Our cells and any emergency numbers are on the counter in the kitchen, you can help yourself to anything. We should be back by ten."

Kathryn nodded, absorbing the information as best she could, Emma was trying to corral the brunette out of the house.

"She's got it, everything will be fine come on, Gina."

"Alright, Henry say goodbye."

The boy obediently ran over and gave each woman a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

"And don't let him in the candy drawer." Regina said over her shoulder as Emma practically pulled her through the door.

"Good bye, Kathryn!" Emma called, eager to be on her way.

The student stood with Henry's hand in her own and waved at the couple until Emma ushered her wife into a surprisingly well restored yellow Volkswagen bug.

Once they were around the block and out of sight, Kathryn shut the door and let Henry lead her back to his collection of cars and dinosaurs, making a note to herself to find this candy drawer after she put Henry down for the night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the reviews. I'll definitely take the alternate ending into account!

Once the car disappeared around the corner, Kathryn closed the door and tracked the little boy back inside where he was already rolling cars around on the hardwood.

"So Henry, what do you want to do?"

"Play!" He said as though it were obvious.

The babysitter dropped down onto the floor of the hallway next to him, grabbing a car and rolling it around, "Yeah? What's your favorite game to play?"

"I like rassling."

Kathryn raised an eyebrow, trying to decipher his five year old lisp before realising that his favorite game was wrestling, "Who do you rassle with?"

"Momma. She's really good at rassling."

"Really?"

"Yeah, she can even pin Mommy."

"No way!" Kathryn was quite adept at talking with kids, and from experience she knew the easiest way was just to keep them going.

"Yes way! Sometimes they practice rassling in bed, but I'm not allowed to play too." He pouted, and Kathryn had to bit her lip to keep from exploding with her laughter. Though one of the last things she wanted to imagine was her literature professor and her dean in bed together, the thought that they told Henry that they were 'practicing rassling' was too much for her to handle.

The rest of the evening passed quickly, Kathryn and Henry played 'Cars and Dinosaurs', a game which highly resembled Godzilla's attack on Tokyo. And then they watched a little bit of an educational show Regina had left in the DVD player for Henry which was all about Australia which the boy seemed to have already watched multiple times over as he could recite most of the facts along with the cartoon kangaroo who narrates the show. The only resistance was at bedtime, Henry refused to brush his teeth. In the end, Kathryn wound up squirting a dab of the bright blue kids' toothpaste on her finger and scrubbing her own teeth to get Henry to wash his. She got him changed into his pajamas and he then conned her into reading him two bedtime stories before he finally gave in to the inevitable and fell victim to sleep.

Once Henry was down for the night, Kathryn still had two and a half hours before his parents were due home. She passed the time doing some (completely innocent) snooping.

A cursory examination confirmed Kathryn's suspicions that the couple had insanely good (and expensive) taste in clothing. The kitchen was stocked with mainly healthy snacks which wasn't surprising in the least. What was a bit surprising was that when she wandered down the hallway on the main floor, she found just one study, featuring a large dark wood desk and matching wood paneled bookcases. There was also a white leather couch against the wall adjacent to the desk in front of a large coffee table. On the table were various stacks of paperwork, Kathryn found she recognized the titles on various folders and her brow scrunched in thought,  _There's only one home office so Doctor Mills uses the desk, and Professor Swan just grades everything from the couch?_

It seemed odd, but then again, she had no difficulty picturing the two in here with the fireplace lit working side by side on a cool Connecticut evening. It was an intimidating image, and she quickly expelled it from her mind, preferring not to think of all the papers she had and would receive from the two women scattered with red ink.

With just under two hours left, Kathryn settled in for the evening. She took up residence on one of the ridiculously comfortable couches in the living room and pulled out the assigned reading for Professor Swan's class.

She made it through about twenty pages before deciding she deserved a reward and went hunting for the 'candy drawer' that Doctor Mills had mentioned before she left.

In her search, she found just about everything else in the kitchen. She found a surprising amount of take out containers, a wilting grapefruit, and a box of red wine wedged behind some leftover spaghetti. Kathryn wondered which of the two women that belonged to. Eventually, she did find the candy drawer which was stocked with primarily kit-kats, snickers, and - to Kathryn's pleasure- Almond Joys.

The rest of her evening passed quickly, and before she knew it the front door was opening quietly and she could hear the echo of voices floating through the entryway. Checking her watch, she saw that it was 9:58, they were just on time.

"I've missed date night." Emma half pouted. Kathryn could hear the sound of the door being drawn shut and keys being deposited into the bowl on the sideboard.

"Mmm, I did as well." Regina agreed indulgently. The babysitter was gathering her things to make a swift exit when she heard the unmistakable sound of lips sucking against skin followed by a deep moan.

That sound stopped, and she heard the voice of her literature professor, lower than she'd heard it before, "I've also missed you."

Out of shock, and in an attempt to remind the two women that she was still there, Kathryn dropped the book she had been sliding into her bag, hoping the noise would prompt a response. She was thankful when she heard a light slap of what must have been Doctor Mills gently smacking her wife for her earlier admission with Kathryn still in the house.

"Hang up my coat?" Regina asked her wife, and at that point, Kathryn deemed it safe to venture out of the living room and towards the doorway.

Kathryn smiled in greeting at the women, and tried very hard not to notice the way that Emma had the distinct red of Regina's lipstick smudged around her lips.

"How was Henry tonight?" Regina asked, hunting through her purse for some money to pay the babysitter.

"Great. He had half an orange as a snack, and he didn't even argue his bedtime."

Emma raised her eyebrow in surprise, "That's a first."

"Yeah, he's a great kid."

She waited, shuffling awkwardly for the dean to pull out the cash.

Emma finished stowing the coat in the hall closet and had turned now, wrapping an arm around Regina and drawing idle patterns on her hip over her dress. Kathryn saw the harried expression melt off of Regina's face to be replaced by one of pure and unobstructed bliss.

Kathryn could count on one hand the amount of times she had seen someone look as happy as Regina did now.

It was all that she wanted to find for herself, it was the hope for that which first led to Kathryn going against her father, and it was moments like this which reaffirmed her decision.

There was so much love here in this home, and Kathryn found herself thankful to just be a part of it.


	7. Chapter 7

About three months after that first evening watching Henry, Regina and Emma hired Kathryn as a full time nanny for their boy. She showed up at their home around seven thirty in the morning when the professors would leave for work, and she would watch Henry for two hours until she took him to kindergarten. Then Kathryn went to her own courses, and she picked him up after school, staying with him until around six when Regina or Emma would return from work.

The schedule just barely worked out with Emma having to pick up extra office hours and become more involved in the department to solidify her shot at tenure.

Working for the two professors ended up being Kathryn's best job ever. They paid her far too much, despite how many times she told them this. Kathryn was able to quit her job at the coffee shop and cut back her hours with the youth sports department. Regina kept the candy drawer stocked with the Almond Joys she noticed disappearing at a quick rate which must be due to the sitter (Henry didn't like the sticky sweet coconut and Emma hated almonds). And Henry was such a good kid, Kathryn truly did enjoy being able to be a part of his life growing up.

The four of them found an easy routine with Kathryn gladly stepping in if they needed extra help. There was only one time when the professors called Kathryn in on an evening and she wasn't able to work.

"It's just a silly get together with all the university staff to celebrate President Bottomley's birthday." Regina explained bustling around the bedroom, searching for a necklace while balancing her phone between her ear and her shoulder.

 _"And when do you need me until?"_  Kathryn herself was running in circles trying to find the tight white button up she normally wore when she worked at the Rabbit Hole.

"Probably until around midnight."

The blonde cringed on her end of the phone, finally finding and pulling on her shirt,  _"Sorry, I can't do tonight. I'm working at the Rabbit Hole."_

"It's a Thursday, August can't get anyone to cover for you?"

Kathryn chuckled,  _"That's just it, it's a Thursday. It's the one night August needs me there."_

A faint light bulb went off in the back of Regina's mind, but she pushed it away, "Alright, I suppose we can ask Professor Emerson's dreadful daughter to watch him."

Emma, walking through the bedroom on her way to grab shoes, heard her wife's complaint to Kathryn. She playfully hip-checked Regina and stole the phone, "Don't let her guilt you, Kathryn! Go out, be free."

With that, Emma hung up the phone to face the glare her wife was shooting her, "I wasn't trying to guilt her." Regina tried to justify herself.

"Bullshit."

"I wasn't." The brunette whined

"Gina." The literature professor began, "That girl hasn't had a night off in months. She deserves to go out and have some fun."

"She's not even going out. She's got to work tonight."

That gave Emma pause, "At the Rabbit Hole?"

"Yes."

"On a Thursday?"

"That is what day it is today, dear."

The blonde's eyes sparked with the sneaky glint which Regina recognized so easily. Regina tilted her own head in warning, but Emma was already talking over her, "Thursday is gay night at-"

"Emma, don't you even-"  
"Just hear me out!" Now the blonde was stepping into her heels with an excited smile on her face, "That's why she hasn't mentioned anything about needing a night off to be with a boyfriend, and if her parents aren't happy with it then that could be why she was cut off, and-"

"Emma." The literature professor fell silent finally, not yet noticing her faux pas, instead, she was reacting to the tone of her wife's voice. Regina hadn't yelled, she never did yell at Emma or Henry, but her voice was hard, unmistakably urging the blonde to stop, "You know as well as I do that whatever happened with Kathryn and her parents had nothing to do with us. She would tell us if she wanted us to know, and it is not for you to make wild accusations based upon a mere coincidence."

Thoroughly reprimanded, Emma remained quiet, stepping behind her wife to take the clasp the necklace that Regina was struggling with.

"I was just thinking." Emma said weakly once she had secured the necklace.

Regina sighed, softening herself, "I know, baby." She spun around and stepped in closer to gather Emma into her arms, somehow managing to make her wife fit within her. Regina laid her head down on Emma's shoulder, nuzzled her face into her favorite place (the juncture of Emma's neck), and took a deep relaxing breath.

"You might be right in your hunch, but it's not your concern unless Kathryn wants it to be." Regina told the freckle on Emma's neck, "You know how hard it was for me dealing with my dysfunctional family, and I absolutely hated my parents. Just imagine how hard it may be for Kathryn if she actually likes hers."

Emma rubbed her hand up and down her wife's back, in soothing circles. She remembered the late night talks, the tears shed, the coffee consumed, in the process of helping Regina come to terms with being not only cut off, but also disowned by her parents.

They had found a good place after they got together, but there were still occasional struggles. Like when Regina invited her parents to their wedding. Her father's health was declining due to his heart condition, and Regina just wanted him to walk her down the aisle. They got the invitation back with 'Return to Sender' scrawled in Cora's unmistakable cursive.

When Henry was born, Regina thought things may get better. But the silence continued. The only break was after her father had a massive heart attack. The doctors told him he had only a few months left even with the pacemaker and he caught the first flight to Connecticut. It was the first time he stood up to Cora in his life and he spent the whole week with Regina, Emma, and Henry, trying to make up for lost time.

He died a month later, and Cora made it clear that Regina and her family were not welcome at the funeral. So they had their own little wake, and visited the gravesite the week following.

To this day, Henry has never met his grandmother Cora, and Regina hasn't even seen her mother in nearly twenty years. Emma's family was something else entirely.

It wasn't something one came to accept easily, but Emma had been there. Emma was always there.

"You're right, I'll forget about it."

The topic was not revisited for a solid week, until both women were working late and they asked Kathryn to remain with Henry for a couple extra hours next Thursday.

When they finally did return home, Henry was in bed and Kathryn was already changed and dressed to go bartend. Emma shot her wife a pointed look and mouthed the word 'Thursday' while Regina thanked the nanny for her extra help.

Regina rolled her eyes at her wife, hoping for Kathryn's sake that Emma's hunch was nothing more than wild speculation.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Kathryn was nearing her sixth month of working for the Swan- Mills family as she was cleaning up the latest 'science experiment' her and Henry had done. It was winter break for the university and Kathryn had stayed on campus working as Henry's nanny and also doing an internship in the admission office. The boy was running off some energy by grabbing his favorite toys from his room when the front door opened.

The blonde checked the stove clock, there was still about a half an hour until she expected either woman to be home.

Grabbing the nearest, largest knife she could find in the knife block, Kathryn rounded the kitchen island. She cursed herself for leaving her cell phone in the front room in case she needed to call the cops and just hoped that Henry would be able to make a good run for it.

She snuck to stand against the door frame controlling her breathing, she listened to the shuffle of footsteps down the hall until they paused just outside the kitchen.

Now or never. Kathryn thought, she jumped from her hiding spot with the knife raised high and threatening as she gave one warning yell.

Her yell, however, was drown out by the much larger scream of whoever it was she pounced on. All Kathryn saw was a blur of blonde hair, and red before she heard the distinct 'oof' of someone hitting the floor.

"If you wanted a raise, all you had to do was ask." Emma joked as she pushed her hair back from her face and straightened her red leather jacket, still sitting on the floor where she had landed after being scared to death by the babysitter.

Kathryn blushed deep red, "I thought you were a burglar."

"And you were going to stop me with a kitchen knife?"

"I left my pepper spray at home." She smirked, extending her non- knife weilding hand to help Emma back on her feet.

Once the professor dusted herself off, she reached down and retrieved the boquet of yellow roses she had dropped in her scare.

"Anniversary?" Kathryn asked, eyeing the flowers.

"No, Regina likes orchids on our anniversary. Yellow roses are, 'I'm sorry' flowers."

"Oh?" The babysitter wasn't sure if she was intruding too much, but Emma always was quite open and talkative with her.

"Yeah. Specifically, 'I'm sorry that my parents have insisted on spending Christmas out here with us and I avoided telling you until the day before they arrived so you couldn't come up with some excuse for them to not be able to stay here.'" Emma smiled a bit sheepishly, "The flower store said that they couldn't fit that all on the card."

"Too bad." Kathryn laughed.

"Yeah."

Emma followed as Kathryn went back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up her and Henry's mess. The professor kept on talking through her predicament.

"I mean, I would have told Gina earlier, but she's so particular with the whole parent thing. Whenever my parents come and stay with us she obsesses for like a whole week before trying to make sure the house is spotless."

Emma shakes her head at the memory of her wife's antics in attempting to exude perfection.

"She's always so concerned with trying to make a good impression on them, she just refuses to realize how much they already love her. Parental love has always been something alien for Gina."

Professor Swan trailed off as she found her cuticles suddenly very exciting.

Kathryn could sense that Emma was afraid she had overshared and before she could stop it, she was trying to reassure the older woman, "I can understand that."

Emma's eyes jumped up to meet hers, and it was with such sad reverence that Kathryn could swear the professor could see right through her.

The sound of the door opening and keys hitting the sideboard broke their intense eye contact and Kathryn forced a smile, "Well I had better get going, good luck with your flowers."

Emma smiled back in thanks.

In the hall, the blonde greeted Doctor Mills who was just finishing hanging her coat in the closet and as Kathryn pulled the door shut behind her, she could hear the scene already unfolding in the kitchen.

"Emma, why is there a dozen 'I'm sorry' flowers?"

"My parents are coming for Christmas."

"They're what?"

"They get here tomorrow. I'm sorry!"

"Emma!"

"Baby, please just-"

"Don't you 'baby' me right now Ms. Swan!"

Kathryn smirked, locking the door behind her.

* * *

As Kathryn walked up the snow covered front path, the front door of the brownstone opened, and a small brunette whirlwind came running out and threw itself at her. The impact knocked Kathryn off balance and she stumbled briefly on the ice and fell flat into a snow drift.

The small whirlwind rolled off her and giggled excitedly, "Are we making snow angels, Kathryn?"

"Yeah, sure kid." Kathryn pulled herself up out of the snow and shot a look at the front door to see (to her surprise) that nobody had followed. There was no Regina chasing him with a coat, or Emma trying to start a snowball war, the doorway was totally empty.

"Hey, Hen, where's your parents?"

The boy jumped up, brushing some snow off his sweater, "Mommy and Gramma are fighting and Momma's tryin to stop them."

"Oh boy." Kathryn exhaled between her teeth. She had met Emma's parents breifly the night before once Emma had picked them up from the airport, and the conflict between the two women seemed immenint. What with Mary Margaret's bubbly personality (from the moment she met Kathryn, she insisted the babysitter call her by her first name, and not 'Mrs. Swan'), and Regina's general serious front.

"Let's get you inside and see how bad it is."

Henry raised his arms, waiting to be picked up and Kathryn was helpless to comply. Though he was nearly six now, he was still so small and scrawny so the blonde lifted him easily onto her hip and carried him carefully the rest of the way up the walk and into the house.

She dropped her purse in the entryway and it didn't take long to figure out where the action was taking place. Voices echoed out from the kitchen, bouncing down the hall. With a deep breath, Kathryn bounced Henry higher on her hip and braved her way down towards the argument, hoping that Henry would do his usual magic and dispell the fighting.

"I'm not saying that he's not a great kid, I'm just saying that you baby him." Mary Margaret was saying from her position with David at the table.

"That's rich, considering how invested you are in Emma's life." Regina laughed back. She was leaning against the island while Emma was standing between the women with her hands on her hips.

Everyone was dressed up for the dinner that the adults were supposed to be going to (which is why Kathryn showed up in the first place) but nobody was making a move to leave.

"I'm not overly invested. Look, you've got everyone waiting on him hand and foot." Mary Margaret gestured towards Kathryn walking into the kitchen with Henry.

The baby sitter felt instantly chastised, and put Henry down onto the island so she could make him some cocoa. Thankfully, the boy was so excited for the hot cocoa that Kathryn had promised that he didn't realize he was the subject of the argument.

"That's ridiculous." Regina scoffed.

"How about we continue this conversation over dinner?" Emma interjected, trying to usher everyone out of the house.

Her father stood to help, "Come on MM." He offered his hand to his wife.

Soon enough, Kathryn was left in the kitchen with Emma while Henry went to say goodbye to his grandparents for the evening.

"Oh my god." Emma sighed, rubbing her temple roughly.

"I thought you said your parents loved Regina." Kathryn asked, stirring the chocolate into the milk.

"They do. This is how their visits always go." Emma laughed shortly, "Her and my mom find something silly to fight about for the first two days, then they make up, turn on me and dad for the next day, then by day four they're the best of friends and spoiling Henry rotten."

"Oh, that's um interesting."

"Yeah." Emma ran a hand through her hair, "This time Mom fixated on Henry little 'Mommy's boy' period. Gina may baby him a bit, but don't let her hear me say that."

"Emma, are you coming?" David called from the front hall.

"Yeah." The blonde grabbed her jacket off of the back of one of the kitchen chairs, "Have fun with Henry."

"Good luck with the family."


	9. Chapter 9

Kathryn could hear the tears before she saw them. She pulled out her key, taking a moment to prepare herself to deal with the waterworks sure to meet her. Henry didn't cry a lot, but when he did it was these large alligator tears and heaving breaths that neared hyperventilating.

When she pushed open the door, Kathryn had to hold back a chuckle. Henry was on the floor, holding tight to Regina's leg with tears rolling down his cheeks. Emma was tapping her foot with her arms crossed sternly from down the hall.

"Hen, you need to let go of Mommy now."

"No!" He only clung tighter, if possible.

Regina for her part was entirely silent, she had the most conflicted expression Kathryn had ever seen.

"Henry, this is ridiculous. We'll be back in a few hours and Mommy will go upstairs and sing you a lullabye."

Kathryn was shocked, she had never seen Henry have such an issue when his mother's were leaving for a date night.

"Henry, you're a big boy now and you have to start acting like it." Emma warned.

Regina, though, looked close to tears herself as she just patted Henry's back in sympathy, "He's afraid that I'll forget him."

Emma huffed, and Kathryn just grew more confused how could the dean forget her own son?

"He knows you won't."

"Don't leave!" The boy cried pathetically through his tears.

"That's it." Emma swooped in and grabbed Henry, pulling him off of Regina's leg and depositing him still crying in Kathryn's arms, "Let's go Regina. Henry, we'll be back in a few hours and when we are, Mommy will sing you a song."

With that, Emma took hold of Regina's wrist and urged her wife to head towards the door. Regina pressed a kiss to her son's floppy brown hair before finally leaving.

Kathryn was still stunned with the boy in her arms. Once the door clicked shut, his wet cries subsided to hiccups and he wiggled to be put down. Rather than ask what had just happened, Kathryn rolled with the apparent change in attitude.

The rest of their evening was slightly more subdued than normal, but at least there were no more tears. Kathryn put him to bed at his normal time, though he did try and sneak down in the middle of the night to wait for Regina to return.

When the women did, Kathryn took her leave quietly, still woefully in the dark.

* * *

"My sweet boy." Regina cooed, perching on the edge of Henry's bed.

He stirred just enough to roll over and nestle into her, "I love you, baby." She promised. Emma watched from the doorway as Regina leant over and began singing quietly to their son. She bowed out and went to wait in their bedroom.

It was about twenty minutes later when she felt the bed dip next to her, and Regina curl up into her. Emma rolled over to hold her wife, "I hate picnics." Regina said.

The blonde laughed shortly, "Me too."

"God, that day was a disaster."

"We should just come clean already."

Regina burrowed herself closer into the blonde, "Not until you get tenure, I don't want them to have any reason to fire you."

Emma sighed, "Fine, but no more social events with the staff of the university."

"Deal."

Emma breathed in the comforting scent of her wife's shampoo and remembered back to the week before they had hired Kathryn, to the day they were almost found out. There was a university wide picnic to celebrate the end of first semester, Emma was planning on bringing Henry so that the rest of the English department could see him (they hadn't seen him in nearly a year) and Regina was planning on avoiding the picnic like the plague.

But things never go according to plan.

"I just need President Bottomly to sign this form allowing my TA's to get credit for the hours they worked over break." Regina half growled at the secretary guarding the door to the president's office.

"She's at the picnic on the green."

"Well can you call her?"

The secretary had worked at the University ever since Regina was a student, and she didn't take shit from anyone, "Well can't you just go down there and ask her yourself?"

Regina shot her a death glare before turning on her heel and stalking from the office. Resigning herself to the innevitable, Regina went out to the picnic, hoping to be able to find President Bottomly quickly without running into Emma and Henry.

But things never go according to plan.

With the president in her sights, Regina walked across the crowded green as fast as one can in four inch heels and a pencil skirt. She was blindsighted by a small whirlwind.

"Mommy!" Henry yelled as he crashed into her legs and begged to be picked up.

Feeling the heat of the eyes of the entire english department on her, Regina dropped down onto her knees. It seemed as though all of the professors were holding their breath, waiting to see how the uptight, cold dean would respond to being attacked by a 'random' child.

Regina looked over her son's head, hoping to catch the eyes of her wife, and finally seeing the blonde running across the grass towards her.

"Hello, who are you, handsome boy?" Regina asked her son, sweetly, hoping that using one of her nicknames for him would ease Henry's confusion. It didn't.

"Mommy, I-"

"Henry!" Emma cut the boy off, grabbing him and swooping him up to hold on her hip, "Did you run into Ms. Mills?"

"No I-"

"Let's go Henry." Emma turned, bouncing Henry, and shooting an apologetic look over her shoulder at Regina, trying so hard not to notice the heartbroken expression on her wife's face.

That night, Henry was convinced that Regina had forgotten who he was. It took a week of Henry sneaking into their bed in the middle of the night, and he reached the height of his 'Mommy's boy' phase until he believed that Regina didn't forget about him, but he was still plagued with occasional doubt.


	10. Chapter 10

Kathryn had been working for the professors for just under two years, she was in the final stretch of her junior year of college and spending more time than usual at the Swan- Mills residence as Emma was away at a conference and now she was helping pick up the slack. Kathryn had put Henry to bed a couple of hours ago and was waiting for Regina to return from the meeting she had gotten sucked into.

She was wandering around the main floor, collecting toys that had gotten scattered around during Henry's impromptu game of 'Tornado' when she heard the lock click and the front door swing open. Before she even saw Regina cross the threshold of the house, she could smell the distinct grease and salt of Chinese takeout.

It was unsurprising at this point, despite Dean Mills' intimidating demeanor, she had a serious weak spot for fried rice and egg rolls. Kathryn grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder and heading out into the entryway, prepared to make her exit. She found her suspicions confirmed as she saw Regina drop her keys into the bowl on the sideboard, the brunette held a brown paper bag in one hand with the grease already soaking through the corners.

"Kathryn." Regina greeted with a warm smile, "How was Henry today?"

"Great as always." Though she had been working for the family for nearly two years, she still never called Dean Mills 'Regina', "He did some coloring and left you a couple of drawings on your desk."

By now, Regina and Emma were paying Kathryn a steady salary so they didn't have to deal with the awkward fumbling for cash at the end of each night. Kathryn donned her coat, and was just in the process of wrapping her scarf around her neck when the doorbell rang.

"Who could it be at this hour?" Regina wondered aloud, going around Kathryn to open the door.

When she did, Kathryn saw Regina instantly stiffen.

"What are you doing here?"

A cold voice replied. Kathryn couldn't see the person on the other side of the door, but the voice alone was enough to give the blonde pause, "Good evening to you as well, it's good to know all the time spent teaching you proper manners was a worthwhile investment. You're not going to invite me in? "

"No."

"Mommy?" Both Kathryn and Regina whirled around to see a sleepy Henry carefully making his way down the stairs. The doorbell must have woken him.

"Baby." Regina was torn, clearly wanting to go to her son, but not leave the woman in the doorway, "Kathryn, will you go put him to bed again?"

"Of course." Kathryn was heading up the stairs in seconds. She didn't miss the way Regina body blocked the woman in the doorway, apparently reluctant to even let the stranger lay eyes on Henry.

She didn't miss the conversation which ensued behind her either.

"Kathryn? I thought you were married to a woman named Ella. Or have you gotten over that one already? At least she was age appropriate for you." The woman sneered.

"Emma. My wife's name is Emma, and we're still married."

"Right. Your son seems passable. Then again, he isn't really  _your_  son after all, is he?"

Kathryn knew that was a massive mistake, nobody questions a tiger mother. She cringed at the top of the stairs, waiting for the verbal bitch slap that Regina was sure to deliver. Instead, she just heard the dean heave an exhausted sigh before replying coldly, "What do you want, Mother?"

_Mother_. The single word bounced around Kathryn's head as she picked up Henry and carried him back to bed. So that's what Regina's mother, the formidable Mrs. Mills was like. Kathryn had heard rumors from the university and from the women she grew up around, but the reality was even more intimidating. Henry was asleep before they even made it back to his room, but all the same Kathryn waited upstairs, sitting in the hallway outside his room until she heard the front door shut again.

When she finally did find the confidence to go back down, she found Regina with her forearm braced against the closed front door, her head was on her arm and her shoulders were slumped in clear exhaustion.

Kathryn just cleared her throat a bit, and waited to be acknowledged. When she was, it wasn't with the words she was expecting, "Do you have dinner plans?" The brunette asked, pushing off the door and straightening her shoulders.

"I couldn't impose."

"You're not." Regina ensured her, finally turning from the door. She had a lip between her teeth, it was a show of vulnerability that Kathryn had never seen before from her, "Don't make me drink alone at this hour." Regina insisted with a small laugh.

Unable to turn down such an invitation, and reluctant to leave Regina alone after such a rattling encounter, Kathryn found herself seated at the kitchen island across from the one and only Regina Mills, popping an eggroll into her mouth. This was the night that Kathryn discovered that the box of red wine in the fridge belonged to Regina.

They didn't talk much to begin with, Regina just checking that Kathryn was of the legal drinking age, and some idle chatter about Henry.

But a couple of glasses into that very box of wine, seemed to be all it took to get Regina to bypass her normal social considerations and ask the question which had been burning at the back of her mind since she hired Kathryn. Not that she was just going to jump right into it. That wasn't her style, it would take some tiptoeing around to finally get there.

There was a brief silence and Kathryn sipped her wine, barely containing the pinching of her face from the gritty taste.

"I know, it's not quite a top quality Merlot, but for some reason, I love it."

The babysitter just smiled, slightly embarrassed at being caught in her grimace, "It's not that bad."

"I know. It's horrible." Now or never, Regina thought, "It's certainly not what we're accustomed to at any rate."

It certainly didn't go unnoticed by Kathryn, "We?"

"We." Regina nodded, entirely unfazed, "Let me guess, you had 'manners classes' sometime in grade school, and as soon as you were old enough to know to paste a smile on, you were shipped off to boarding school." Kathryn's eyes grew wide as Regin seamlessly narrated her formative years, "Don't be so surprised, dear. Even without knowing your father, I could practically smell the privilege wafting off of you. I don't understand one thing though. There's only two types of girls who grow up around money; the kind who gets cut off, and the kind who doesn't."

Wordlessly, Kathryn nodded (feeling strangely exposed and not at all offended by Regina's assessment) prompting the dean to continue. Not that she needed any prompting.

"While you may be the kind who got cut off, I can't figure out why. I mean when I got cut off, it was just a matter of time. Between my carelessness and my psychotic mother, it was inevitable." Regina smiled humorlessly, "Tell me, Kathryn, what made you be the kind to get cut off?"

Kathryn swirled the remainder of her wine around the bottom of her glass, trying to think of a kind way to phrase 'I dated the gardener, my father found out, and tried to force me to break up with him, and when I didn't, he kicked me out on my ass.' She settled eventually on, "It was a difference of ideals."

Regina cocked her eyebrow, she wasn't taking that vague response. Not tonight, "Ideals?"

The blonde babysitter sighed in resignation, "Yeah, ideals in uhm- in my romantic choices."

"Oh god, Emma was right." The dean pressed a hand to her temple and rubbed harsh circles, "She's never going to let me hear the end of this."

"She was right about what?"

"You're gay."

"No, no!" Kathryn just short of choked on her noodles as she denied what Regina said, "It was the gardener. My dad walked in on me and the gardener and tried to make me break it off with him."

"Oh." Regina felt adequately shamed as she dropped her gaze to her fried rice.

"Yeah." Though Regina was the one who made the mistake, Kathryn felt the need to continue justifying herself, "Father felt that Jack was below me and even though I did end up breaking up with him, I've never been able to see the world and the people in it quite the way my father would have me see it."

"But what about your mother?" Regina asked, her own basket case mother aside, most women of the upper class had nothing to do but host teas, attend book clubs, pretend to raise their kids, and decorate their large homes. They weren't conventional, but they did love their kids. Especially those without demanding careers, since Regina had never heard of the blonde's mother, she assumed that she fell into this category.

"She died."

"Oh." Regina knew better than to say 'I'm sorry.' She knew that wasn't what Kathryn needed.

"Yeah, it wasn't too bad. She died when I was pretty young and since then it's just been Dad, Carol, and I."

"Carol?"

"My baby sister." Kathryn smiled sadly, "She's a sophomore in high school now. She's the only person back home I really talk to anymore." She didn't say anything for a moment, just remembered the last time she saw her sister nearly a year ago when she visited her family for Thanksgiving.

The Dean nodded, one question kept her curious though, "So why must you work Thursday evenings at the Rabbit Hole?"

That made Kathryn smile widely, "As August says, 'I appeal to the demographic.'" Regina raised a questioning eyebrow prompting Kathryn to explain, "The men love my mixing skills, and the women love to hit on me."

Regina laughed, downing the rest of her wine and standing to refill it. She asked if Kathryn wanted another glass as well, but she declined, saying she had to get going soon.

Eventually, the dean walked her to the door where Kathryn paused a moment. She figured so long as Regina had asked the her the tough questions, Kathryn had a right to do the same. But still, it was hard to feel entitled to interrogate the head of the Political Science Department.

"The woman tonight, she was your mother?"

Regina heaved a loaded sigh, "The one and only Cora Mills."

"And you sent her away?"

"I know this may be hard for you to understand, Kathryn, but I was merely returning the gesture. When I came out to my mother, she turned me out with nothing. People don't change, and now that I've made a life for myself here with Emma and Henry, I refuse to let her taint that."

The babysitter nodded, though she couldn't quite grasp resenting one's mother, she understood where Regina was coming from. She was about to leave before a final question occurred to her.

"Why does Professor Swan pretend to be married to a man?"

Kathryn was standing on the stoop just outside the door and she saw Regina visibly sag against the door frame, the babysitter regretted her question as she watched a sadness come into the dean's eyes.

"When she got hired, Emma and I had been together for a few years and she just barely proposed to me. We knew we wanted to have kids, and we knew that she would be the one to carry them. We were ecstatic, but the only thing worse than a gay professor here is a single, unmarried mother."

Regina scuffed her toe against the doorframe as she kept going, "It was always easier for Emma to play the pronoun game."

"The pronoun game?"

"Swap out 'she and her' for 'he and him'." Regina laughed humorlessly, "The rules are simple and there is no winner. I've never been able to do the same."

"Why?" Kathryn blurted before she could stop herself. The questioning stare from Regina prompted her to clarify, "Why haven't you been able to do that too?"

For a moment the dean just exhaled, and more so than ever, Kathryn could see her age in the hard lines of the brunette's jaw and the steely resolve in her eyes, "I spent so long hiding who I was, first with my friends, then my parents, and now with the university. I can suffer in silence, but I can't lie outright, not anymore."

The blonde nodded, understanding the mix of anger and regret in Regina's voice. She took a step back down towards where her car was parked on the road, feeling as though she had intruded enough for one evening. Kathryn hardly made it two steps when she heard Regina say one more thing, so quiet she wasn't sure if she imagined it.

"I love her so much. I just wish it was enough."

Kathryn wasn't sure if she was referring to her deep, emotional love for Emma which Kathryn had witnessed time and time again, or if she was referring to the inexplicable love a child has for their parent despite being given every reason not to feel that way.

Either way, Kathryn figured it didn't matter. What mattered was that it wasn't enough.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is my favorite chapter- flashbacks are in Italics. There's a few chapters left in this story, I just wanted to put up most of them because I keep forgetting, yikes.

Kathryn was only about a week into her first semester as a senior, and already Regina's political science seminar was proving to be the death of her. She truly enjoyed the class, but it was so much work, and it covered everything she had ever learned in her past Poly Sci classes.

She wasn't the only one on high alert as the first semester wore on. Though neither one said anything explicitly to her, Kathryn could sense that something was off with the Swan- Mills women. It was something in the way that the whole house seemed subdued in the mornings, something in the lack of corny jokes that Emma normally told, even Henry seemed to be quieter (though that wasn't really saying much considering how loud the seven year old was).

It wasn't until she walked in on Emma pacing up and down the living room one morning, running late for her first lecture, clutching crumpled papers that Kathryn found out the reason Emma hadn't gotten her tenure yet was because her latest novel was 'too risque' and the university wanted to make sure she wasn't making waves. She had to publish again (in a more 'appropriate genre') before they would consider pushing her tenure through.

Regina was fighting her own fires with the seminar she was teaching. This day, they were beginning class with a case study on famous displays of civil disobedience. Doctor Mills was whipping through a power point at breakneck speed when a member of the board of the university came in and took a seat in the back of the small lecture hall. The class was only for majors, and so there were only twelve seniors in it. Kathryn knew that it was normal for board members to sit in and audit classes, but she had never heard of anyone having the audacity to sit in on one of Regina's lectures, let alone her senior seminar.

Regina just ignored the man, though Kathryn (from her countless hours of observation) could see the professor's shoulders tense marginally.

Doctor Mills flicked to the next slide and the class continued on. The blonde lost herself in the lecture until Regina stopped on one of her final slides, the scene caught Kathryn by surprise because of its familiarity. The protesters were wearing the same shirts that she saw in the photo on the wall of the Swan- Mills' home, the DC monument glowed brightly in the background, but it seemed to be just off to the side of the photo that Kathryn was used to seeing.

She could identify the knee she knew belonged to Regina just half cut off, and some of Emma's blonde hair had barely made it into the photo displayed on the screen, but it was unmistakably from the rally Regina had dragged Emma to all those years ago.

"Can anyone tell me what mistake was made by the protestors in this photo?" Doctor Mills asked over her reading glasses.

Kathryn had absolutely no clue, but she was on the edge of her seat to hear more about Regina's murky past.

"Traffic violation." A brave voice called from the back row. It was Brian, a kind blonde boy that Kathryn was used to seeing over the past for years.

"Exactly. The protesters obstructed traffic and upwards of a hundred of them were arrested for being a disturbance."

Regina was about to click to the next slide when a voice from the front row stopped her, "Weren't you at that protest, Doctor MIlls?"

The professor's eyes widened marginally as she regarded the girl who had asked. Kathryn identified her as Astrid, a kiss ass with whom Kathryn had butted heads with multiple times. As much as the blonde disliked Astrid, the girl had a point, there was a rumor floating around the upper echelons of the Political Science department that Regina was quite the activist in her day. Most of what Kathryn heard, though, was too general, not any specific protest or cause.

Regina smiled, but it was her deadly sort of one with her eyes as cold as ice. She knew she had two options, confront the rumor she had heard head on, or lie and hope it went away. Regina didn't do anything the easy way, so she took a sweeping glance of the room, including the board member, before answering, "Yes, that is correct. I was the president of the student body when I attended this university. As such, I showed my support for various student organizations and attended many rallies, that was just what you did back then."

The professor had a faint soft smile as she recalled the times that were 'back then'.

"So were you arrested?" David ventured to ask.

"Yes, I spent the night in an overcrowded holding cell with many of the other attendees of the rally."

Regina removed her reading glasses entirely. There were only five minutes left in this class, she could spare them in the interest of humoring her students. She had given them a lot of reading over the past weekend, and they deserved a little reward.

Kathryn sensed this slight weakening of the barrier, and decided to go for it, "Just how many times were you arrested, Doctor Mills?"

She asked it with a slight smirk that she was doing her very best to conceal. To her relief, Regina answered with a smirk of her own.

"I've been arrested ten times, no actual charges were ever filed." The students all twittered in excitement, and Regina allowed them to ask questions until the clock struck eleven thirty and she ended the class.

Kathryn packed her things, walking out with David in the back of the pack. She thanked Doctor Mills for the lecture, and watched surreptitiously as the man on the board of the university got up from the seat he had been occupying and approached Regina. Kathryn watched the brunette's expression morph from relaxed openness to an immediate defensive posture.

* * *

"Kathryn!" A kind voice echoed across the mostly empty library cafe. It was just past noon and most students had given up studying for at least a lunch break, but not Kathryn. She was trying to work through the complex text she had been assigned for her advanced criticism class, but it wasn't going well.

"Professor Swan." The babysitter replied with a smile, "How are you, today?"

"Great, and you?"

"Hanging in there." Kathryn gestured to the book she had been wading through.

"You look like you could do with a break."

"You read my mind."

Five minutes later and they were treading the mainly empty path around the lake. Emma visibly relaxed when they walked far enough to be away from prying eyes.

Kathryn wondered what Emma wanted to talk about, but was confident she would find out soon enough. Emma never was good at withholding.

"How's Gina's seminar going?"

"Great." Kathryn remembered back to the lecture that morning and the man auditing the class, "Horrible, but great."

"Sounds about right." Emma chuckled.

They walked in silence for a bit longer, Emma rolling a tennis ball around in her palms. Kathryn recognized it as the tennis ball that Henry had spent hours the day before throwing against the garage door while the babysitter did her advanced calculus homework on the front porch.

"So I heard there was a visitor in class this morning?" Emma phrased it as a question, though Kathryn could sense that she already knew the answer.

"Yeah, some official university guy."

"I think they're onto us."

From that remark, along with the paranoid look on Emma's face, and Kathryn couldn't hold back a short bark of laughter. The literature professor raised an eyebrow, and Kathryn had to explain herself, "Sorry, you just sounded like an undercover agent in a black and white cop thriller."

Emma finally cracked a smile, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Kathryn nodded a greeting to a freshman she recognized who was just passing them, jogging around the lake, "No offense or anything, but how did you keep your relationship quiet for so long anyway?"

"When we first started dating, we were so young and stupid, it didn't matter. Then everything just snowballed. It wasn't easy, still isn't." Emma got this faraway look as she recalled those early days of their relationship.

* * *

_Regina knocked on the door of the dorm room, shooting a dirty look at the freshman loitering at the bulletin board a few feet away. She shifted from foot to foot, waiting for the door to open. And when it did, she hardly gave time for a greeting before barging in._

_Emma smiled and pulled the door shut behind her girlfriend, "Were you scaring my freshmen again?"_

_"No."_

_"Liar." Emma smirked. She followed to where Regina had already sat herself down on Emma's bed, "You know you make me a bad example when you just come around here sniffing for sex." She teased._

_Regina faked an offended expression, "I don't sniff for anything."_

_"Yeah right."_

_"I knew I shouldn't have dated an undergrad." Regina said, already pushing Emma down and crawling up her to steal a kiss, "So immature."_

_"I'm not immature, I'm an RA! You do realize you're only three years older than me, right?"_

_"It's an important three years. Now shut up, and kiss me already."_

_Emma rolled her eyes, but complied. She didn't miss the sideways glances she got at the next floor meeting when she told her freshmen that there were more important things to be doing at college than drinking and screwing, but she couldn't find it in herself to care, because she was already hopelessly in love._

* * *

"We were just stupid kids then. We had no idea what we were getting in to." Emma laughed, it was the soft, slow kind that Kathryn had learned to associate with the blonde talking about her wife, "Not that it changed anything when we actually knew what we were doing."

* * *

_"Oh my god, these freshmen are killing me." Regina complained. She threw the paper down on her desk in front of her and dropped her head into her hands, "Why did I agree to take this position?"_

_Emma smiled from her position on the couch, "Because it's the top undergraduate program for political science in the country and because they were practically begging you to join them, and because you have a five year plan to take over the department and never have to teach a freshman seminar again." She rattled off the list that Regina had given her two years ago when she had accepted the position at their alma mater._

_"Right." The brunette sighed and dropped her pen onto the discarded essay, "How's the next great american novel going?"_

_Emma looked down to the macbook in her lap, before giving up, shutting the top, and placing it on the coffee table. She slumped down further on the couch, barely remaining upright. When they had bought the brownstone, Regina had offered to convert the guest room into an office for Emma, or at least make room for two desks in the office, but Emma always prefered to work from the couch instead._

_"It's certainly going."_

_Upon graduation, Emma soon realized that a degree in creative literature was not the best path to a lucrative career, but she managed to publish a few children's books and was now working on her very own poetry collection._

_It was a slow process, but she was doing what she loved, and she couldn't ask for more than that._

* * *

"It took a while, but when I finally got it published, it was like the damn broke."

Kathryn knew the book. It came out when she was still in highschool and her literature teachers are it up. She recalled the young woman's sudden rise to the spotlight as she was lauded one of the top writers to watch.

"Offers were pouring in from everywhere for me to teach, Stanford, Harvard, hell, even some universities in England."

"So why chose here?"

"Same reason everyone else does." Emma smiled sadly, "It's the top university in the country, and Regina was here. She was settled, we had gotten married a few of years prior and she was really making a name for herself. I couldn't just up and leave."

The professor bounced and caught her tennis ball with easy athleticism that made Kathryn jealous, "A couple months later, and I was pregnant with Henry, teaching my first lecture series, and it all just fell into place."

"And Henry, how did you manage with him for so long?" Kathryn didn't know where this sudden confidence she was feeling came from, but it just felt right and natural to be able to talk this out with the older blonde.

Emma didn't seem to have any reservations either, "My friend from college, Ruby. She's one of the few people around here who knows, and she was a blessing when Henry was first born. She's just been amazing with everything really." Emma shook her head as though there was more that she wanted to add, but didn't yet, "I know the area may seem small when you're still a student, but with the city just a short bus ride away, there's never been an immediate threat of Gina and I being found out."

One question kept nagging in Kathryn's mind though, "So how have you gotten away with the whole 'husband' thing for seven years?"

"God, that was a disaster waiting to happen." The blonde bounced her tennis ball easily as she began to explain, "It all started my first day of teaching, that evening there was a party for all the staff to celebrate some of the science professors getting their research published in a quarterly review…"

* * *

_"So that's Doctor Gerritsen and Doctor Norton, they did work together on thermal dynamics." Melanie explained, nodding at two older men in sports jackets who were talking with other similarly dressed men, "And over there is Doctor Rand, head of the mathematics department."_

_Emma took it all in, trying to commit to memory the names that her coworker was telling her, "There's so many professors here, how do you keep track?"_

_"Years of experience." The older redhead laughed. She had been working at the University nearly twelve years by then and taught most nonfiction writing courses._

_Emma smiled and took a sip of her wine, surveying the room to try and catch a glimpse of her wife. They had taken separate cars, and she hadn't seen Regina since they left their home._

_Finally, she spotted the brunette speaking closely with an attractive young man with dark, full hair, "Who's that man over there?" Emma asked with an edge in her voice. She knew it was ridiculous to be jealous of some man she didn't even know, but she couldn't help it._

_Melanie mistook the edge for something else, "Good taste. That's Graham, he's part of the economics department. But don't get your hopes up, word on campus is that he and Regina have had a thing for ages."_

_"Regina?" Though she didn't mean for it to happen, the brunette's name came out as a hoarse whisper._

_"You probably know her as Doctor Mills, she's the cold brunette that he's talking to. I wouldn't cross her if I were you. No matter how attractive he is."_

_"No!" Emma said, far too loudly for the quiet room that the staff was milling about in. All eyes turned on her and Melanie and Emma felt heat rise in her cheeks at the attention, "I just mean- I wasn't- I'm married."_

_"That's wonderful, dear. Tell me all about him."_

_Most people lost interest and returned to their own conversations, but Emma could feel the dark eyes of a certain brunette on her as she stumbled to cover her mistake, "Well, he's uhm, he's the smartest person I know. And he's guarded, but so very kind. I love him more than anything."_

_"He sounds lovely, why didn't you bring him tonight?"_

_"He's out of town. He uh travels a lot, for work."_

_"What does he do?"_

_Emma saw her wife smirk slightly, waiting to see how Emma would get her way out of the mess she had made, "He's an engineer."_

_"And he travels?"_

_"Yes, he's a military contractor so they send him all over." Emma smiled at her own random idea, "So it's always so hard to try and get him to things like this."_

_"Of course."_

_Later that evening, Regina was the first home and she was already changed and waiting in the study with a tumbler of cider by the time Emma pushed tiredly through the door. The blonde didn't bother in changing before following the light down the hall to the study and dropping hard on the couch._

_"Fancy seeing you here." Regina teased, finishing her drink._

_"Come're." The literature professor insisted, opening her arms and scooting against the back of the couch expectantly._

_Unable to resist her wife looking so adorably exhausted, Regina complied, and they cuddled up together on the sofa._

_"So I hear you're sleeping with Graham." Emma said, nuzzling her nose in the crook of her wife's neck._

_"I hear you're married to an engineer who 'travels all the time'." Regina shot right back._

_"Should I be jealous of your boy?"_

_"Only if I should be jealous of yours."_

_"Sounds good." Emma conceded, "I love you."_

_"I love you too, baby." Regina promised._

* * *

By this time, Emma and Kathryn had made a full circuit of the lake and were now back in front of the library where they had started.

"Well I guess I had better stop distracting you, and let you get back to the whole studying thing."

"Yeah, it's great stuff." Kathryn smirked.

"I'll see you later." Emma said, she bounced her tennis ball, nearly missing it as it shot back crooked off the gravel path.

 


	12. Chapter 12

"Henry, have you seen my wallet?" Kathryn asked, the Swan- Mills women had just left for work, and the babysitter was on a frantic search. She realized her wallet was missing the night before when she got back to her apartment, and had failed to find it since.

The seven year old shrugged and continued his drawing, leaving Kathryn to begin her search of the house. No where was assumed safe a Henry had been known to start games of 'Treasure Hunt' without anyone else knowing. Kathryn one time found her keys in the freezer.

Kathryn was just searching through the guest bathroom, when something gave her pause. She was checking behind the curtains on the window sill when she smelled it- the distinct stink of cigarette smoke. Neither woman smoked- that she knew of. Yet as she pushed the window open and stuck her head out, she found an ashtray sitting just to the side on the roof. It was the cheap 99 cent kinds that littered hotel rooms around the country, and it was full of butts.

Right next to the window was a flower pot, and inside, Kathryn found a half empty pack of cigarettes. She was turning them over in her hands when Regina burst into the room.

"Kathryn I just came back because I forgot something." She said hurriedly.

"Doctor MIlls, I wasn't- they're not-" The blonde said, pointing the cigarettes she was still holding.

The Dean held up a hand, "Stop. I know they're not yours." She extended her palm for Kathryn to place the cigarettes in.

Kathryn did so, feeling like a child caught with her hand in the candy drawer.

Regina twirled the pack between her fingers in an easy practiced gesture, and it was instantly clear to the blonde who the cigarettes belonged to.

The Dean paused in the doorway, "I don't normally smoke. Emma hates it when I do, and I would never around Henry. It's just my stress release."

Regina rubbed her free hand against her temple. She was running late for her office hours, having come back to the house to get the pack she found Kathryn with. Now since she started talking, she couldn't stop.

"It's stupid and unhealthy, I know. It just sort of happened back in high school and it was never regularly, just when things get rough."

Regina hadn't made eye contact with the babysitter since she got her cigarettes back, but she didn't stop talking either, "Not that things are exactly rough now, it's just so stressful with Emma writing her new book, and the board has been asking questions. I just- " Regina cut herself off, catching a glimpse of her watch, "I've got to get to work, shit."

Without so much as waiting for a reply, Regina turned and left, dropping a quick kiss to Henry's head on her way out of the house.

* * *

"Ready for take off?"

"Ready!"

"Hang on tight!" Kathryn brought her legs up, extending them as long as they would go, while her arms did the same. Henry squealed in excitement, clutching tightly onto her hands so he wouldn't slip.

The babysitter had her feet positioned on the boy's torso while she herself laid on her back so she was holding Henry up as if he were flying like superman. It was one of Henry's favorite games, and Kathryn had been neglecting going to the campus gym lately so it worked out well for everyone involved.

Between Henry's high pitched peals of laughter, Kathryn heard the front door open and both women enter. Instead of the normal greeting that the would call when they arrived home, Kathryn could make out hushed arguing.

She was finally getting a glimpse into what was causing all the tension in the home. Henry was thankfully oblivious, just enjoying his 'flight'. The blonde set him down on the ground, and sent him up with instructions to get cleaned up for dinner while she herself grabbed her bag and braved the way into the battleground of the entry way.

Just as she was turning down the hall, Regina whipped past her, muttering a quick 'hello' before she continued on up the stairs.

Standing right inside the door was Emma with a hand pressed to her forehead.

"Long day?" Kathryn prompted.

"You have no idea." Emma gritted out.

"Mm." She hummed in sympathy.

"Did you ever hear about Professor Morgan?" Emma asked, surprising the babysitter.

She nodded in reply, "He was in the mathematics department, wasn't he?"

"Yeah. Was." Emma dropped her keys in the bowl on the sideboard, they clattered far too loudly in the small hallway, "You heard the rumor of why he was let go?"

Kathryn blushed, it had happened during her sophomore year, and everyone at the university had heard the rumor at some point or another.

"Yeah."

Emma nodded, scuffing her booted foot against the tile, "It's true." She said before following Regina's earlier tornado path. Kathryn let herself out, pulling the door shut behind her.

All the way on her drive home, Kathryn couldn't keep the exchange with Professor Swan out of her head, and especially not what it meant for the Swan- Mills family. The widespread rumor was that Professor Morgan was as gay as his perfectly coordinated ties and button ups indicated, and when he was released just before getting his tenure, there was intense speculation as to if it was because of his teaching abilities, or because of his alleged sexual preference. Emma's final tenure hearing was a week ago and the results were due in any day now.

Kathryn wasn't so innocent to think that tenure was a magic 'get out of jail free' card, but she hoped that once Emma was in the clear, she and Regina would be able to be open at school at least.

* * *

One week later Kathryn was rifling through the candy drawer of the Swan- Mill's home, convinced there had to be at least one Almond Joy hiding in a back corner somewhere. She had seen one just yesterday when she brought Henry back from school and she grabbed a treat for herself and the boy. There was definitely one in there, and she was going to find it if it was the last thing she did.

Giving up any semblance of dignity, Kathryn reached into the very back of the drawer, going in elbow deep until her fingers brushed the smooth wrapper she had been looking for. She pulled it out triumphant and unwrapped the candy. Kathryn grabbed her cell phone out of her back pocket to check the time- 11:56. She was expecting the women back around 11:45, but it wasn't a big deal. The couple wasn't often late (especially when they went to these dull department parties where they weren't able to act as a couple), but when they were, they always paid Kathryn extra.

Kathryn wasn't too surprised at the tardiness, and she half expected them to be late tonight as it was the congratulatory party for Emma for finally getting her tenure.

Now the babysitter was enjoying her well deserved treat and trying to calculate how many hours she would have to pick up at the Rabbit Hole to cover her share of rent that was due next week. For the past two years, Kathryn had lived in an apartment near campus with two of her girlfriends. The three of them had been best friends since freshman year and the living arrangement just made sense.

At the end of September Ashely was going to be moving out to go to med school in New York, and it would just be Kathryn and Melanie left, Kathryn was stressing about saving enough to manage the raise in her share of the rent.

Right as Kathryn was considering how much she could make if she became a nude model for the art department, she heard laughter on the front porch.

Instantly, she knew what kind of state the women were coming home in.

She heard the handle jiggle a little, followed by more laughter until finally one of them managed to get their key in the door and stumble into the entryway. The keys then missed the side board entirely and Kathryn heard them clatter to the floor which was followed by more laughter, and even a snort.

Kathryn had to muffle her own giggle at the sound, never in the two and a half years she had worked for the women, had Kathryn heard either of them snort.

Apparently it was a rare occurrence even when the babysitter wasn't around because it prompted a whole nother round of laughter before Kathryn heard Emma's slightly slurred response, "I can't believe you just snorted."

"I did not snort." Regina denied.

"Liar."

"So what if I am?" Kathryn didn't miss the way that Regina's voice seemed to be lower, and not just from the alcohol both women had clearly indulged in earlier in the evening.

"Then I might have to punish you."

Hoping to make a quick exit, Kathryn swallowed the rest of her Almond Joy, and prepared to sneak out the door. As she came out of the kitchen and into the hallway she walked in on a rare sight- Doctor Mills backed up against the wall, connected by the lips to Professor Swan. The blonde had her hips pressed flush against her wife's and Kathryn froze in her tracks.

It was like a trainwreck, she couldn't stop watching. After a second, when Doctor Mill's hands began to wander dangerously low, Kathryn cleared her throat, and to her relief, the two sprung apart like a couple of teenagers who had been caught by their parents.

Kathryn had to supress her laughter at the guilty expressions on both their faces. She noticed that they're both vaguely glassey eyed, though Regina was faring worse which was quite surprising. Then again maybe not as Emma was the designated driver (she always is). This should probably be concerning to Kathryn seeing as the blonde was clearly over the legal limit, but from listening to the women's banter, Kathryn knew the literature professor was quite adept at driving drunk.

What was more concerning was how high Regina's skirt was riding following the impromptu hallway makeout session.

"Kathryn." Regina said, attempting to sound commanding and in control like she normally was, but failing miserably as she slurred her next words, "I'm so happy to see you." The brunette was already looking through her purse for some extra cash for the babysitter which Kathryn tried to refuse- not that either women ever let her get away with that.

"I take it the party went well?"

"So well!" Emma laughed.

"We told everyone." Regina butted in with an eager smile, "About us, me and Emma, how we're married."

The dean's rambling would be absolutely adorable had it not been accompanied by Emma's hand disappearing behind Regina's back where Kathryn was sure it was up to no good.

"That's great!"

The babysitter was genuinely happy for the women, and they were still on a celebratory high themselves as Regina came up with some bills, pushing them into Kathryn's hands. When the babysitter glanced at it and saw that it was far more than Regina normally insisted on giving her when they were late, she tried to give it back, "Doctor Mills, this is too much, I can't take it."

"But you've been so good for Henry, and for us. You're just so good." Regina insisted, closing Kathryn's hand and smiling genuinely despite her intoxicated state.

"Thank you, but-"

"No more!" Emma declared, "Smile and get out of here. We'll see you in the morning."

Kathryn had no choice but to comply, smiling and locking up on her way out.

The next morning, when Kathryn showed up to get Henry ready for school both women were wearing sunglasses and Emma had a thick scarf wrapped around her neck. Regina was wearing her wedding ring that Kathryn had seen her don on occasion, but never before to the university. Though the house was slightly subdued (as it was any morning after Regina and Emma came home a bit tipsy) Kathryn could sense the shift that had occurred was for the better.

The women kept sharing these little smiles and each time their eyes locked, one of them would blush. When Regina left first for her morning office hours, she kissed Emma on the cheek and left with a with a bounce in her step.

As Kathryn double checked the kid's backpack she saw Emma still standing by the door watching her wife's car turn the corner. The blonde had this adorable lovestruck expression on her face that made her look about thirteen years old.

"I love her so much. I don't know what I'd do without her." Emma sighed.

Kathryn just smiled to herself while Emma gathered her final things for work.


	13. Chapter 13

Regina rolled her eyes as she watched her 200 level seminar file out of the lecture hall, not missing the long stares and the whispers that followed. She had just been waiting for one of them to ask her about the ring, but the poor little sophomores were all either too dense or too intimidated to voice the question.

Now as her senior seminar trickled in, Regina could only hope that one of her headstrong seniors would finally break the silence.

Kathryn took her usual spot in the center of the fourth row, next to David, and he noticed it immediately. He leant over and whispered, "What's that on Doctor Mills' finger?"

The blonde had to smile at his purely testosterone driven question, "It looks like a ring."

"Yeah, but what kind of ring?"

"I'm guessing a wedding ring."

Apparently, Kathryn and David weren't the only ones whispering amongst themselves as Regina abruptly stopped the beginning of her lecture with a severe expression, "Something you want to share with the class, Ms. Blue?"

Astrid in the first row froze from where she had clearly been gossiping with the woman next to her, "No."

"Are you sure, it would appear as though you and Ms. Bell were engaged in a very important conversation. I can just wait to begin my class until you're done, unless there's something pressing you need to address before then?"

Kathryn could see the challenge in her professor's eyes. It was the same look she got when Kathryn watched her and Emma make their silly bets. The dean wanted Astrid to ask about the ring.

But Astrid wasn't stupid, "We were just talking about how pretty your ring is. Is it new?"

The Dean's smile was unreadable while Kathryn watched on from the fourth row, "No, it's not."

David, bless his poor male heart, was so confused by now, "So it's not a wedding ring?"

"No, David, it is a wedding ring." Regina's smile softened slightly in addressing the kind boy. She took off her glasses now, prepared for her students to finally give her the third degree.

"So you're married?" He asked trying to connect the dots aloud.

"Yes, I am."

By now Astrid had regained her usual self- entitled attitude and chimed in happily, "Is it to someone who works here!?" She asked excitedly. Kathryn knew exactly where she was going, having heard the shorter woman helping spread the rumor of Regina sleeping with Professor Graham.

"It is." Regina said, with a slight smirk teasing the edges of her lips. She shared a conspiratorial look with Kathryn who smiled in reply.

"It's Professor Graham, isn't it!" Astrid practically squealed.

"No. It's Professor Swan." The Dena said with the positively largest smile that Kathryn had ever seen her have during school hours, "Any more questions?" She asked, reveling in the shocked expression on her students' faces while also trying to get them back on track for her lesson plan.

"I've got one." Kathryn said, raising her hand in a pointless gesture. Regina acknowledged her with a raised eyebrow, "Are you happy?"

"I'm so happy. The only thing that could make me happier is if the essays you all handed in last class weren't absolutely atrocious." Regina smiled, turning to the presentation projected on the wall behind her, "Today we're going to be moving onto the nuances of economics in foreign policy…"

* * *

It's been five years since Emma and Regina hired Kathryn to watch Henry. Five years of bedtime stories and messy science experiments. Five years of Kathryn working all hours to make ends meet. Five years of hard work, school, law school, and finally, Kathryn was sitting on the green at Yale ready to walk across the stage and get her law degree.

She hadn't talked to her father in months, ever since Carol (a junior at Dartmouth) had decided that she wanted to join Doctors Without Borders. Their father thought it was an entirely pigheaded and irrational decision, but Kathryn had stood up for Carol, and their father ultimately blamed the older girl for polluting her sister's judgement.

Carol had her finals this week, so she couldn't attend her sister's graduation and Kathryn's current boyfriend Frederick was in South America as part of Doctors Without Borders (he was the one who actually inspired Carol to look into the service program) so Kathryn wasn't expecting anyone out there to be cheering for her.

She couldn't have been more wrong.

When the dean called her name, and she ascended the steps of the outdoor stage, a loud cheer went up from the audience. A row of five people jumped to their feet, clapping and cheering wildly.

It was all the new lawyer could do to hold her tears back until after the ceremony when she could confront the people. Thankfully, she didn't have to wait long before a mess of brown hair was tearing across the crowded green to ambush her in a tight hug. At ten years old, Henry's head reached Kathryn's shoulder and he could finally beat her in their impromptu arm wrestling matches. When she hugged him back, she couldn't believe how strong the boy's grip on her was.

His fearlessness never went away, nor did his kindness. Though he quickly shed his innocence growing up with the initial backlash of bad press his mothers got when they came out with their marriage, he learned quick and unconditional kindness from the eager support that the women also got. Countless groups and individuals came forward to back the professors, when the campaign for marriage equality came to Connecticut in the following years, the family was at the forefront of the offensive, helping to ensure it's legalization.

Behind him trailed the four most important people in Kathryn's life. Her sister was the next to hug her once Henry let her go.

Carol, despite being five years younger, was taller than Kathryn and she playfully lifted her sister in the air as she hugged her, "Congratulations, Kat." It was a nickname only Carol was allowed to use.

"I thought you had finals this week, what are you doing here?"

"Yeah, finals were last week. That was a blatant lie."

"But how did-"

Carol just smirked and shook her head, stepping back so that the next person could have their shot at congratulating Kathryn. In the next moment, the blonde was swept off her feet in a bone crushing embrace by none other than her boyfriend, "You did so good, Kathryn!"

He spun her around in an easy circle while she laughed in surprise and pure joy.

"This is insane, you're supposed to be in Bolivia."

Frederick smiled and set her down, "That I am."

"Then how-" Kathryn stopped herself from even finishing the question as her eyes locked on the final two people waiting to congratulate her, "You didn't."

Regina had this guilty little smile on her face that told Kathryn all she needed to know.

"I can't even.."

"Get over here, kid." Emma held her arms open for a hug that Kathryn stepped into easily. The professor smelled like vanilla , and held Kathryn fiercely, "It seems like just yesterday you were in my sophomore lit seminar. You've come so far." Emma felt like the older sister that Kathryn never had, the role model she had always wanted.

When Emma let her go, it was with a solid clap to her shoulder and the new lawyer turned to the final person in their little group.

In the five years that she had worked for the two women, Kathryn knew exactly how many times she had hugged Doctor Mills- two. Once when the professors came home drunk and Regina half fell over and tried to play it off as a deliberate hug, and once after Kathryn graduated from her undergraduate program.

Today made it three as Regina made the first move to hug the younger woman, "I'm so very proud of you, Kathryn." She said quietly.

Finally, the tears that Kathryn had been working so hard to hold back came flooding out. If Emma was the older sister that Kathryn never had, Dean Mills was the mother figure she had been deprived of. Getting that affirmation, that somebody approved of her, that someone was truly proud of what she had done, was all that Kathryn ever really wanted.

That night, the professors had everyone over to their home for a congratulatory dinner for Kathryn. It was then that Kathryn finally managed to weasel out of the Dean that she and Emma had paid to fly Frederick and Carol out for the commencement ceremony. When Emma cleared the dishes, and Frederick immediately volunteered to help, Kathryn could have sworn she heard the professor ask him what his 'intentions were' with Kathryn. She had never felt more at home.

* * *

"Alright, out with it. What's going on with you?" Regina insisted over the rim of her tumbler.

Kathryn blushed from her seat across the couch. It's ten years after Regina and Emma hired her to watch Henry, and she's back in Connecticut for the week visiting them, and her sister who's doing her medical internship in the city.

"Is it that obvious?"

"You're practically bursting at the seams."

The blonde swirled the remainder of her wine around the bottom of her glass. It was the crappy boxed kind that had started to grow on Kathryn, despite her initial reservations. Emma was upstairs trying to put Charlotte back to bed, the toddler was in her terrible twos and bedtime wasn't quite her favorite time of the day.

"Frederick proposed."

"Congratulations." Regina's smile was sincere and only a shadow of the blonde's own megawatt grin.

"Thank you!" The dean was afraid that Kathryn was going to burst a blood vessel with how intense her smile was, but there seemed to be no chance of dampening it, "I just have one question for you."

"What is it?"

"Since my mother died, and I've not talked to my father in nearly twelve years, I was wondering if you would consider maybe, uhm." Kathryn stalled out, suddenly becoming very interested in the carpet under her feet.

"Out with it, Kathryn." Regina smiled.

"Will you walk me down the aisle?"

"No."

"Thank yo- Wait. What?"

Regina put her tumbler down on the table and turned to fully face the younger woman, seeing her own self in the disappointment and sudden flash of hurt etched in Kathryn's face, "Listen to me, Kathryn. I'm so honored that you asked me, but I can't. You need to ask your father, if not to walk you down the aisle, then at least to your wedding."

"But I-"

"Kathryn, just listen. I know how hypocritical this may sound coming from me, but you can't just cut your parents off like that. Reconnecting with my father before he died was one of the best things I've ever done, and I would have regretted it so much if I hadn't."

By now, Kathryn wasn't afraid to voice her mind around the older woman, and the rebut was out of her mouth in seconds, "How long has it been since you talked with your mother?"

"Two weeks."

"What?"

Regina had this sad little smile on her face, "We've been talking more. She lives in New York so I haven't seen her since that night when you were still watching Henry, but she's really been trying to reconnect. I don't want her anywhere near Henry or Charolette still, but she's my mother."

"You can't choose your parents." Kathryn said. It was a mantra she had heard Regina say many times in the past few years, and one she had learned to accept, though now it was coming to have a new meaning.

"You can't choose your parents." The brunette echoed, "And no matter what, they're always your parents."

A few moments of silence and Kathryn finally caved, "Alright, I'll invite him. But if he declines, will you be my backup?"

"I would be honored."

With that, Kathryn set her glass down beside Regina's, "I had better get going, I'm supposed to meet Carol for an early breakfast tomorrow before her shift at the hospital starts."

Regina walked her to the door, Emma joining them part way down the hall so they could all say goodbye from the front door.

Watching Kathryn retreat from the doorway, Emma wrapped her wife in a secure hug from behind, resting her chin on the brunette's shoulder, "You're kind of amazing, you know that right?" Emma asked.

"I know. Why am I amazing this time?"

"This time, it would be for your advice giving."

"You heard that, huh?"

"I didn't know you and Cora had been talking."

"Just a little." Regina turned in her wife's arms, "I think she is mainly just concerned that once she dies all of the money she leaves behind will be spent on rainbow flags and financing a life of purgatory."

Emma laughed at the weak joke, knowing that though Regina would never admit it, reconnecting with her mother was truly important to her.

"Oh no, that money will go to the kids' college funds, our retirement, and then the remainder can finance all the purgatory."

"Obviously." The brunette pressed a chaste, yet loving kiss to her wife's lips before slipping out of the embrace, "Now I have a call to make."

"To who?"

"Mr. Nolan." Regina turned with an intimidating smirk, "I think we need to have a little heart to heart."

"Ok, here's something I never thought I would have to tell my wife. No threatening the fathers of our former employees."

"No promises." The brunette laughed walking down the hall back to her study. Kathryn's father would walk her down the aisle if Regina had anything to do with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N- Well that's it. I can't believe that a hairbrained idea for a short story turned into this whole deal. More so, I can't believe the following and reviews that it gained. So one last big thank you to all of you for following this story through until the end and for your amazing and kind reviews.


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